Meeting the UK official in Hanoi on February 23, the PM pledged that Vietnam will create optimal conditions for UK businesses and investors during their operation in Vietnam, proposing the two countries beef up their cooperation for a goal of doubling the current two-way trade of over 5.6 billion USD by 2020.

He urged the UK to help speed up the official enactment of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, suggesting both studying a new trade pact suitable to post-Brexit situation.

He said Vietnamese enterprises want to strengthen partnerships with their UK peers, who have strong capacity, experiences and technologies.

He hoped that the UK will continue supporting Vietnam to train high-quality human resources and teach English, and facilitate Vietnamese students’ study there.

He lauded the effective operation of the British Council in Vietnam, wishing it more success in the future.

He said he expected the UK Government will make it easier for more than 70,000 Vietnamese who are living and studying in the country.

He also expressed his pleasure to see the increasing number of UK tourists to Vietnam.

For his part, Fox highlighted the cooperation between Vietnam and the UK in multiple fields, including corruption prevention and fighting, administrative reform.

He reiterated that the UK, after Brexit, still looks to strengthen economic cooperation with other nations by enhancing its investment overseas and ensuring free trade.

He underlined cooperation potential for the two nations, particularly in commercial airplane purchase, education and training, and national defence and security.

The two nations should foster their strategic partnership in other fields, he added.

The UK pledged to support Vietnam’s socio-economic development, he said, adding that this contributes to the UK’s prosperity.

He expressed his hope that the two Governments will work closely together, in which the Vietnam – UK Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation is the tool to promote bilateral investment and trade exchanges.